Council confirms another two bin strikes are set to take place in South Tyneside

South Tyneside Council has revealed that it is preparing for fortnightly industrial action affecting bin collections in January.

The local authority has announced that there will be no bins collected between Tuesday, January 9, and Friday, January 12, inclusive.

Another strike will then take place on Tuesday, January 23, until Friday, January 26, inclusive.

It follows GMB union members taking strike action next week and then both GMB and Unite members will be on strike later in the month.

The industrial action will affect all bin collections and South Tyneside Council is once again asking residents not to put their bins out during the two periods of strike action.

Due to the latest planned actions, the local authority is making some changes to scheduled collections in January in an effort to empty bins impacted by repeated rounds of strike action.

As it stands, there is potentially an eight-week period where one of the bins does not get emptied.

The Council is hoping that by adjusting the collection patterns, it will be able to shorten the length of time between these bin collections to three or four weeks.

Residents in the borough are advised to present both their grey household and blue recycling bins on non-strike days, with the Council stating that it will make every effort to empty at least one of the bins.

A spokesperson for South Tyneside Council said: “We understand that any disruption to waste and recycling services is difficult for both residents and businesses and we appreciate how frustrating and inconvenient it is particularly at this time of year.

“We appreciate that the instruction to present both bins on non-strike days may add some confusion but with current collection patterns we know that some people face an extended period with either their grey household or blue recycling bins not being collected.

"By making changes to collection patterns, we are working hard to mitigate the impact to some extent. Please present both bins and the crews will collect the correct one.

“This is an extremely challenging time for all; for the workforce, the Council and the communities we serve. The industrial action affects every single resident.

"As a Council, we are doing everything we can to get as many bins emptied as possible while supporting residents due to the same bin repeatedly hit by the unions’ decision to take strike action.

“We have such great community spirit here in South Tyneside and would appeal for people to help each other wherever they can, whether that be spreading the message or supporting their neighbours and families to manage the excess waste, while industrial action continues.”

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South Tyneside Council has claimed that despite repeated attempts to bring forward ACAS conciliation, both GMB and Unite have refused to sit at the table to try and end the strikes.

Due to legal restrictions that protect industrial action, South Tyneside Council has been unable to acquire the resources it needs to provide an alternative service.

The local authority has stated that it is working to end the industrial dispute by keeping channels of dialogue with the unions open.

The spokesperson added: "We are absolutely committed to ending this dispute through ongoing dialogue, mediation, and conciliation. The lines of communication remain open in the spirit of constructive and positive industrial relations.

“We are disappointed that these latest rounds of strike action have come in response to communication with the crew, which not only reminded them of their important roles on the front line but reinforced our commitment to resolve matters and move forward.

“Our people are our strongest asset, and our waste services team are valued members of the Council’s workforce serving on the frontline.

"The service supports 72,000 households, emptying 6.5 million bins every year. In the last four years, improvements in service delivery have seen customer complaints reduce by 79 per cent.”

Members of the GMB and Unite unions are wishing to "affect a change in operational management" with the strike action and the Council has stated that it is undertaking a full investigation into matters raised by union members.

An external independent investigation was commissioned in September last year and all matters raised by waste services employees were considered.

The Council has stated that less than one fifth of waste operatives that submitted concerns (10/52) chose to take part in the independent investigation process.

It has also confirmed that the preliminary findings of the report were shared with both unions and further questions were raised which the Council has posed back to the investigator.

South Tyneside Council has confirmed that its Recycling Village remains open every day, with additional slots being made available.

Further information can be found via the Council's website at: www.southtyneside.gov.uk.